The U.S. dollar has weakened considerably.
The price of crude oil was down by about two bits to $51.45.
Gold fell by another $4 to $1,174.
Ag commodities got a lift: wheat up $0.04, corn up $0.11, soybeans up $0.16, oats down $0.15.
Lumber down $2.
Bonds, the object of my affection today ("Trade of the Week"), reversed from early morning lows. After yields rose by more than 4 basis points on the 10-year, the close was relatively flat. TLT slipped $1.20 from Friday's close, ending the day slightly higher. Bravo!
Municipal bonds sold off. But closed-end muni-bond funds got a lift (e.g., Eaton Vance Municipal Incm 2028 Term (ETX) and Blackrock Taxable Municipal Bond Trust (BBN) ) -- hard to explain why, though!
The 2s/10s spread dropped by two basis points to 127 basis points.
Banks, stated simply, are continuing to be the "world's fair" -- regardless of what rates do. Short Bank of America (BAC) , Citigroup (C) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM) (all small).
Brokerages bullish -- led by Goldman Sachs(GS) (on a late HSBC(HSBC) buy upgrade today, seriously??!!!).
But insurance lagged, though my long Hartford Financial(HIG) was modestly higher.
Auto stocks stalled. I am still small short General Motors (GM) and Ford(F) .
Retail was stronger -- with upside leadership from Nordstrom(JWN) , Best Buy(BBY) , Foot Locker(FL) , Nike(NKE) and Urban Outfitters(URBN) . JC Penney(JCP)

The U.S. dollar is flat today.
The price of crude oil rallied smartly -- by nearly $2/barrel to $47.60.
The price of gold was listless, up a beaner.
Agricultural commodities: wheat up $0.02, corn up $0.03, soybeans up $0.24 (!!), oats down $0.04.
Lumber is flat.
For a change, bonds are quiet. The yield on both the 10-year note and long bonds showed little price change. As mentioned earlier the 2w/10s narrowed by 3 basis points.
Municipals were a bit lower.
Junk bonds found a bid, however, and Blackstone/GSO Strategic Credit Fund(BGB) was up $0.06.
Banks continued to trade well, small gains on top of large gains over the last month.
Insurance very strong, though brokerages had some modest profit taking.
Retail was mixed -- Home Depot (HD) and Nordstrom (JWN) lower while Foot Locker (FL) and Best Buy (BBY) were higher. JC Penney (JCP) weaker.
Oil stocks were the world's fair -- with broad-based gains. Schlumberger (SLB) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) ++.
Autos lackluster, still underperforming ... down to tagends in General Motors (GM) and Ford